Snow and ice warnings across UK as hundreds of schools close

Snow and ice warnings remain in place across many parts of the UK, as the Met Office warns disruptive snow could sweep across southern England this week.

Parts of northern Scotland will remain under amber warnings of snow until Tuesday night, while less severe yellow warnings cover large swathes of the UK until 11:00 GMT.

South-east and central England – areas not currently covered by weather warnings – could see heavy snow on Thursday and Friday, the Met Office said.

A low of -12.5C (9.5F) was recorded in Marham, Norfolk overnight, making it the coldest night of the winter, with the cold snap leading to some air and rail travel being disrupted, and hundreds of schools across the UK closing.

Most yellow alerts across the UK will expire by late morning on Tuesday, with the amber warnings for Scotland lasting until 19:00.

Heavy snow of 5-10cm has been widely forecast across central and northern regions of Scotland, with some areas set to see up to 15cm. A low of -11.2C was recorded at Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands overnight.

The Met Office has advised those in the area not to drive and to prepare for possible power cuts.

The agency says a yellow warning means some disruption is possible but many people can continue with their daily routine, while an amber warning indicates a higher risk of travel disruption, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property, with people advised to take precautions.

With the cold snap of Arctic air continuing, schools across the country continue to face closures. More than 330 were shut in Wales on Tuesday and more than 170 in Northern Ireland.

“It’s as bad as I’ve seen it,” principal of St Patrick and St Brigid’s College in Claudy, Phillip McCullagh, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire, Orkney and Shetland councils also announced that their schools would remain closed. In England, 20 schools are shut in Norfolk and multiple schools in Devon were due to start late on Tuesday.

There were delays to the rail network on Monday in some areas – Eurostar trains were unable to reach the Netherlands and Network Rail Scotland warned of “exceptionally deep snow” limiting the progress of snow ploughs.

LNER has advised anyone travelling between Edinburgh and Aberdeen not to travel until 14:00 GMT Tuesday. Train services in northern Scotland will be disrupted until the end of the day on Tuesday, National Rail said.

CalMac Ferries said services on the west coast of Scotland would be disrupted throughout the day. A number of main roads were blocked in Wales on Tuesday morning.

Flights were grounded at Liverpool John Lennon Airport on Monday after its runway had to be closed due to snow and ice. The airport reopened later that day.

The cold blast does not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. Later in the week, strong winds and heavy rain could bring an additional hazard as a deep area of low pressure sweeps across the UK.

The Met Office said that parts of the south of England – much of which have missed the snow so far – may see some fall on higher ground on Thursday and Friday.

Northern and central areas of England could face more snow, rain and strong winds, depending on the path of the approaching Atlantic system.

Met Office forecaster Aidan McGivern said there was a 20% chance the system takes a northern route, which would bring widespread disruptive wind and rain to much of England and Wales, and possibly more snow in northern England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But he said there was a greater chance that the front moves through northern France, bringing disruptive snow to southern counties in England.

The most likely outcome is wind and rain in southern parts of the UK, with central England seeing the risk of disruption from snow, he added.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued amber cold health alerts for England which will run until Friday.

The wintry conditions have triggered the government’s cold weather payments across 451 postcodes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Under the scheme, households on certain benefits receive £25 automatically if the temperature is their local area is recorded or forecast as 0C or below for seven consecutive days.